Sensibilities
by xXRandomnessPrevailsXx
Summary: When Atobe Keigo finds that the new commoner boy is threatening his reputation as Hyoutei's Number One, he tries to thwart his life. If only the boy wasn't also threatening his sanity... T for cussing. AtobeXOC. No yaoi/shounen-ai. 5 shot.
1. TASTE of Your Own Medicine

Hello, hello, and how do you do? I'm fully aware that I'm starting this fic when I haven't finished my other TeniPuri fic and I haven't reposted my other fic that I will shortly be deleting (which isn't a TeniPuri fic). This is just an idea that attacked me when my fellow 8th graders were working on a Geometry project (we're... special) and I just HAD to get it out in time for St. White's Day.

St. White's Day is a day like St. Valentine's Day is Japan. St. White's falls on March 14th every year and is the day where boys give gifts to girls they like and people send gifts to people they got chocolate from on St. Valentine's. So basically...  
Valentine's—girls give to guys and friends  
White's—guys give to girls; people repay for receiving gifts on Valentine's

Also, I'm writing this story completely blind, meaning no pre-written version, just some character details and a basic set chapter structure.

**Notes:**  
Pair: AtobeXOC (No shounen-ai. I can't write it to save anything at all. Even the world.)  
Universe: (Like Twists) Future-fic, what-if-ish.  
Warnings: Some swearing here and there, some confusion, and a fish load of ego (courtesy of Atobe). Also, the OC's name is a spin off of a couple in Bleach. Which couple is it? (It's a boy-girl pair.)  
Extras: I'll leave the translations up to you. If you understand, great. If you don't, go Google it.

Disclaimer: Yes, because a recently-fourteen-year-old can own one of the most popular sports manga franchises without stepping foot into high school. In other words, I don't.

* * *

Chapter 1**  
**

**Taste **of Your Own **Medicine**

* * *

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was tasting.

This was a disgrace to his obvious superiority! An outrage against his first-class needs! This was clearly not the coffee exported exclusively from Hawai'i, ground to perfection in France, then brewed without flaw using water from the Swiss Alps! No, his refined tastbuds knew the difference. The flavor, the texture, the color, the scent; it was all wrong. He narrowed his ultramarine eyes and sneered at the imperfection in his porcelain English teacup with disgust.

No one would get away with making Atobe Keigo drink commoners' instant coffee.

* * *

Atobe felt satisfied; he had eradicated his extraneously over-sized number of servants of one more imposing fangirl. She had thought she could pull off her master plan of having Atobe fall in love with a maid in order to later marry him. The naïvety of the intellectually lacking female caused him to laugh in amusement. Atobe Keigo? Fall in love with a poor person? Ridiculous! Delirious! Absurd! Atobe would find no one less than the heiress of the world's second best company, provided they even _had_ an heiress. Details. One more thing he didn't have time for. When the time came, his parents would introduce to him the girl he would marry. Then he would take over the company, and nothing would ever really change for him.

The black limousine he was currently inside slowed to an eventual halt, and he waited for his doorman to do his job. The door clicked open and swung out; only then did Atobe make a move. Casually, he exited the limo in one swift motion, tossing his schoolbag to an aquaintance and stepping out in front of the crowd that awaited him. Atobe stood for a pose, slipping both hands in his pockets. A moment later, he swept some in-place hairs aside for a dramatic effect, then raised an arm in the air. It lingered there for some time, then his fingers moved nimbly for an audible snap. The crowd hushed with an excited silence.

"_Ikuzo,_ Kabaji."

"_Ussu._"

Atobe replaced his hand into his pocket, and the second before his foot could touch ground, the crowd erupted in a frenzy of cheers. The heir's smile faltered for a second, then took certain place as a scowl. All the attention and adoration was great, no lie, but it would be more appreciated if it didn't happen all 6,411 days he had been alive. It was awesome to always be the center of attention when he was a kid. During his preteens and early teens, it was a little annoying, but it still showed people how to properly treat someone of higher class and value. Now that he was going to graduate at the end of this one last high school year, the spotlight was making him asphyxiate uncomfortably. Just last month, on that accursed day, he had nearly been smothered in his own home by the sheer mountain of gifts he had received. Of course, he never touched even one of them. The love-sick commoners had no real love to offer, just obsessive and insane fangirlish business. He had allowed his staff to take as much of the chocolates as they felt appropriate. Atobe could never fathom the perfect way to show his dedicated employees that they were truly needed and appreciated.

Atobe sauntered down the hallway of the upper floors, various students clearing a path for him and Kabaji to walk. Once he had arrived at his classroom, the door slid open and someone very rudely walked into him. A girl materialized from behind the rude commoner and bowed profusely in the commoner's place.

"I'm very sorry, Atobe-sama. Ah, Matsumoto-kun is a new student here, and I was just showing him around."

This 'Matsumoto' boy was dressed in street clothes—he was probably too poor to afford the proper school uniform, or even to acquire a better taste in clothing, for that matter. He wore faded dark denim cargos, some very shabby and worn-out Nikes, and a newer ACDC shirt with a black sleeveless hoodie. The boy's dusty-looking caramel hair was pulled back into a ponytail, save for the bangs that swept across his face to the point that they covered his eyes.

"Matsumoto-kun," the girl continued, "this is Atobe Keigo-sama. He—"

"I know who he is. Sorry for bumping into you, Atobe-san. Please excuse us."

The boy shouldered past Atobe, who stood his ground in disbelief. That boy's rude attitude needed to be adjusted. Sure, he apologized, but commoners would grovel at Atobe Keigo's feet before they even thought to have contact with him. Narrowed eyes stared on as the new kid was ushered around. Those eyes were using _Koori no Sekai._ If this boy had the nerve to 'bump into' Atobe, then he would be careful to not leave even a single blind spot.

This boy was completely encased in ice.

* * *

The day had dragged on rather uneventfully, but Atobe's temper had made the best of it. He found himself extremely annoyed that the new boy was rivaling his own popularity amongst the girls, receiving confessions and gifts before he had even attended Hyoutei for 24 hours. It irked Atobe even more that this boy didn't seem to enjoy all the attention that rightfully belonged to him. But what made Atobe the most furious of all was that this new boy actually had charisma to rival his own.

The new boy had even made friends with Kabaji.

* * *

By lunch, Atobe was more irritated than he had been when he lost to Echizen Ryoma nearly three years back. Of course, he had improved himself to an even greater extent than that brat ever could, but he was irritated nonetheless.

Atobe sighed deeply. He needed to relax. He couldn't let a mere commoner get on his nerves so quickly in the game. As he had always said, "Forget the rules. I AM the rule." There was only one procedure that would completely refresh him before he ordered the removal of the boy. And so, Atobe made his way to the greehouse.

The greenhouse was an international work of art. Not only was it colossal and spacious, but it was organized so that there were plants from every continent except Antarctica. Settling on the plants from the southeast Asian islands of the Philippines, Atobe found a randomly but conveniently placed hammock among the banana trees and lay down to take a nap. Just as he was getting comfortable, he found that he was no longer alone. One—no, two sets of footsteps were drawing closer to his position. Atobe hoped direly that they were passing students that wouldn't pay him any heed.

"Atobe-san?" a boy asked.

_Dammit._

Annoyed, Atobe opened one eye and looked at the intruder. It was the new boy, and Kabaji tagged along behind him. The boy wasn't even looking Atobe in the face! What rude manners. Atobe closed his eye and spoke in a tone that said "make it fast or I'll break your face."

"_Ahn~?_ What does the peasant boy require of Ore-sama?" The "peasant boy's" face scrunched up in disgust.

"Shut it, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou. I don't like you. The only reason I'm here is because I don't want to be on bad terms with you, either. And the only reason Kabaji's here is because he was the only one who would know where to find you. So I thought I'd bring you some tea I made to cheer you up. Here." Kabaji squarely placed a tray on Atobe's lap. It had a simple teaset of a teapot, a teacup and saucer, and a spoon. The teapot had a red liquid that was somewhat opaque, but smelled sweet and appealing.

"It's Dong Fang Mei Ren, a kind of Oolong that's grown in Taiwan. It's also known as Oriental Beauty or Bai Hao Oolong. It's not just some cheap convenience store knock-off; I grew the tea leaves when I lived in Taiwan. I just wanted to show you how sincere I was being. I'll be going then."

Atobe waited until he could no longer hear the boy's footsteps. Only then did he sit up. It took a while to pour the tea properly and stir it a few times, but Atobe found himself surprised when he drank the red liquid. It was sweet, but not quite enough to make him feel like cringing. There was no sign of the bitter aftertaste that usually followed in other sweet teas. The water was boiled to perfection, neither too cold nor too hot. Atobe was admittedly impressed. This commoner's knowledge was obviously more extensive than that of the other commoners. A tapping on his shoulder prevented him from taking another sip. Atobe turned his head to see Kabaji nodding in the direction in which the boy had left. He made a second gesture that looked as though he were waving to his own face. Atobe smirked.

"_Ahn~?_ You think he needs a haircut, too?"

Kabaji shook his head. He tried again, this time covering his eyes with his hands. This time, Atobe got the message.

_Dammit!_ he cursed to himself.

_Matsumoto is blind._

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was tasting.

* * *

Sorry if this is terrible. I wanted to post it according to my outlined schedule.

Let me know if it's too OOC or something. The other Hyoutei boys will appear next chapter.

~Ja ne~

-xXRandomness_PrevailsXx

* * *

**Jan. 31, 2013**

**After almost 2 years, I finally got to editing a bit. Maybe I'll get back to actually posting chapters soon, too.**

**-Randomness**


	2. SMELL of Defeat

Whoo, second chapter with only four favorite stories/story alerts and no reviews. Oh well. I shall continue on. Google translations if you must.

A few minor spelling mistakes last chapter. I won't fix them.

I can't keep a chapter release schedule... Plan failure! Oh well. I hope you enjoy this fic nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine in any way, shape, or form. Except for the form of crushed dreams.

* * *

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was smelling.

It had been a week since the Matsumoto boy had visited him briefly in the greenhouse. They hadn't spoken to one another since. This goes without saying, Atobe hadn't minded whatever moves the boy had made inside Hyoutei's grounds. But this—this was another matter altogether.

Atobe wanted to know why the hell the boys' tennis team's club room smelled like the tea the peasant had given him.

* * *

Deep blue eyes narrowed to slits were accompanied by a dangerous aura as Atobe stormed through hallway after hallway. As the school's Number One, he obviously had access to the student files, and a certain commoner's files told Atobe that a certain commoner took up fencing as an elective. Atobe was fairly surprised; at Hyoutei, the fandom was based solely on the boys' tennis team, more specifically the Regulars. Especially Atobe. He hadn't known that a fencing club existed—details were a thing Atobe simply did not have time for. As he approached the room of the alleged fencing club, Atobe could hear people—three slightly familiar voices—calling out.

"Twelve, nine, two! You got them all? Wow, Gin-san, you must be a genius, too!"

"My turn; eight, one, seven. ...that's pretty good, considering—"

"Gekokujou daze, Gin-sempai. Eleven, ten, four..."

Various slashing noises were heard distincly after every number said. But that wasn't Atobe's problem; his problem was who owned those voices. His suspicions were confirmed when he entered the room and saw Oshitari Yuushi, Akutagawa Jirou, and Wakashi Hiyoshi some five meters from a fencer. The fencer was surrounded by a circle comprised of twelve different wooden posts, each marked with a Roman numeral from one through twelve. The fencer herself was in the midst of all of them, apparently not breathing too heavily. Atobe did his best to conceal his anger.

"Ahn~? You all skipped practice without notifying Ore-sama to watch a frail girl practice fencing?"

"I'm not frail, you buffoon," the (now clearly a) boy retorted. Oh, great. There was only one person outside the tennis team with enough gall to address Atobe that way. The fencer took off his mask and revealed a glistening face with dark gray-green eyes framed by shoulder length honey blonde hair. _Wait a minute..._

"Gin, are you _sure_ you're not a frail girl?" Oshitari drawled.

"Yeah! You'd make someone a really pretty girlfriend if you were," added Jirou.

Gin scoffed at the remarks and tied up his hair. _Wait a minute._ "Wakashi, tell 'em I don't look like a frail girl."

The eleventh grader tossed him a towel. "No comment." Gin muttered, "Oh well," before quickly swabbing his face, leaving his hair to cover his eyes.

_Wait a minute!_

"So _this _is the commoner who made the club room smell like tea?" Atobe asked in disbelief. _This commoner... 'Matsumoto Gin' can fence without vision?_

"Commoner? I thought commoners couldn't afford school uniforms, Keigo. Gin has one." Oshitari's drawl was kind of getting on Atobe's nerves. Kind of.

"The club room smells like tea? Wow, what kind? I hope it smells good, Gin-san! What kind of tea did you use?" Wasn't Jirou only supposed to be excited when something... _exciting _was happening?

"No comment." With that, Hiyoshi walked out of the room and turned left, towards the building's exit.

"Ahn~? You mean, the commoner isn't a commoner? Please explain this to Ore-sama, peasa—Matsumoto."

"No thanks," Gin said passively. "I've got places to be. It's almost time for school to get out, Atobe. Make yourself useful and leave. Later, Shitake Mushroom, Akuma." (o-SHITA-ri=SHITAke mushroom; AKU-tagawa=AKUma [devil])

A presumed fangirl (or was it his girlfriend...?) chose that moment to drag Gin by the arm out of the room, babbling so much that there was no time to interject. But that didn't matter.

Atobe couldn't think of what he might retort with.

* * *

To say that Atobe was steamed after the fencing room incident was to say an understatement. He was positively livid! The nerve of that boy! There was a difference between the lower levels of society and the epitomy of the corporate food chain, a difference he didn't seem to have learned yet. If no one would teach him, Atobe would see to it personally.

He did just that.

After being told to 'be useful and leave', he promptly exited the school premises, but he didn't return home. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. He merely leaned against the school wall, which seperated higher learning from an ordinary peasant area. He had phoned in reinforcements, a sleek black Hummer he had designated specifically for dealing with his various... "problems".

Atobe's glorious figure rested against the wall in the way a boyfriend would do so if—when—he was waiting for his girlfriend to show. But to assume so was a grave mistake. A mistake all students leaving Hyoutei thought true. Atobe sighed. This was pathetic. Why was his love life always the target of idle gossip? Didn't most high schoolers have more important things to worry about, like their own pitiful romantic endeavors, or celebrity battles, or... or homework? Atobe Keigo didn't have time to think of such frivolous pasttimes. He closed his eyes. _How long did it take to change into a school uniform and leave?_

A chattering voice caught his attention. Atobe raised an arm up in a familiar position, and he could hear his reinforcements revving the Hummer's engine and shifting into place. The voice grew closer until... _there_!

With the snap of his fingers, a team of five men moved in on the intended target, none other than Matsumoto Gin. The girl he'd been chatting with, the same one from the fencing room, bolted off toward the school as soon as she realized that the men worked for Atobe. Though he was struggling to shake the men off, Gin apparently heard the girl's footsteps running away.

"Lousy girl! I knew she was—"

That was all that got out before one of the five men muffled out Gin's voice with a white handkerchief. Hoisting himself off the wall, Atobe slid his hands into his pockets, opened his eyes for an effect, and smirked.

"Perhaps when you wake up, Ore-sama will teach you how to treat those on a higher plane of existence."

He started for the Hummer, listening with a satisfied grin. Of course, he knew what would happen next. Atobe Keigo may be rich, but he's not incompetent.

"What do you... mea—?" The men shuffled towards the Hummer and slammed Gin's unconcious body inside. They filed in themselves and shut the door, letting the chauffeur know to step on it.

* * *

Atobe was growing tired of waiting, waiting, waiting for the boy to wake up from his unconcious state. A small groan was heard from the body, and Atobe was relieved that he could _finally_ get on with his speech.

"Oh, you're up. Ore-sama was about to dispose of you if you hadn't woken in the next three minutes and nine seconds. You should be thankful Ore-sama did no such thing." Atobe paid no heed to the fact that Matsumoto was still obviously groggy. Thus, he continued on.

"Are you aware of where you are sitting? You are presently in Ore-sama's own dwelling. Normally, those of lower importance, like you, are not permitted into such a place of high quality. But normally, those of lower importance don't pose a threat to Ore-sama's reputation."

"What do you mean, you pompous airhead?" glared Gin. Waking up in a chair was understandable. Waking up with your ankles tied to one was another story.

"You bumped into Ore-sama without a proper apology, proper acknowledgement, or proper introduction. Ore-sama was gracious enough to let that go without trouble. You also interrupted Ore-sama's relaxation time and forced Ore-sama's location out of Ore-sama's most trusted friend. Ore-sama allowed that to slip as well. Then, even though Ore-sama has done nothing but show you Ore-sama's affableness, you proceeded to sabotage the tennis club room and make it reek of your Taiwanese Oolong's fragrance. Now Ore-sama's patience has run out."

Gin's face contorted visibly into an unreadable expression that might possibly have been rage.

"Tch. Shut up, you self-indulgent crumbcake. I don't have time for your crap." Gin bent over and felt for the knots that were holding him down. Now, it was Atobe's turn to make a face.

"Ore-sama has let you inside his humble abode, and you are ungrateful. Ore-sama feels compelled to—"

"Why should I comply to anything 'Ore-sama' says? You're just another arrogant brat with nothing better to do. Why should I feel grateful for being kidnapped and tied up? Go back to the courts, vexatious impudent 'Oreo-sama'." By this time, Gin had already untied himself from the chair and stood up, head hanging. "Now, if the Cookie King would show me to the door, I'll manage my way back home."

Atobe's eyes narrowed again. Just who did this sight-impaired imp think he was? _No one_ ordered Atobe Keigo to do _anything_. He started to speak, stepping towards Gin simultaneously. Gin's ears twitched at the registration of sound, and he picked his head up as he felt vibrations through the soles of his sneakers. He knew exactly where to aim.

"Wrong move, Atobe." Atobe paused, curious as to what he meant. Gin pivoted on his left foot and lifted his right off the floor, gaining momentum as it traveled upward and landed in Atobe's stomach. The heir, anticipating another attack, used the few moments he had to use his Koori no Sekai and get this boy's weak spot.

The boy didn't have any weak spots.

_How could that be? A week prior, this boy was encased in ice, but now there was none?_ Atobe doubled over, finally feeling a pang shoot through his body. Gin seemed to know whet he was doing, because as Atobe hunched over, he pulled back his left arm and tightened his hand into a fist. Gin propelled his fist forward, then up, connecting it with Atobe's face and landing the damn cookie a fair meter from where he was previously standing. Gin straightened and cracked his neck.

"That girl that ran off before was the girl you found posing as a member your staff that made you instant coffee. She knew what happened at the greenhouse, so she befriended me to try to get closer to you. Until that point, she was genuinely trying to be welcoming. _She's _the one that made your stupid club room smell like my tea. I'll be going now, fruitcake, but don't think you can mess with me without a fight. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm defenseless."

_No shit, Sherlock. Zero weak points and offense skills that would even give Hiyoshi a run for his money._

Gin felt his way towards the door, turning the handle when he found it and stepping into the hallway of Atobe's house. Before he shut the door on his way out, he turned his head to indicate he was speaking to Atobe.

"Oh, and you might want to change your shirt later. Unless you like the color red." The door closed with an almost inaudible click. What had the boy meant by that? Atobe peered down at his school uniform and saw multiple blotches of red liquid. Was it more of the boy's damn tea? He was suddenly aware of a warmth on his lips and chin and throbs of pain from his nose. Wha—?

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was smelling.

* * *

It's four days off, but whatever. At least I didn't give up, I guess.

Yes, Gin really, truly is blind.

Lemme know what you think of this, whether it's awesome, it sucks, or if you have any questions. Like when the OC girl that Atobe's supposed to fall for shows up. She's already made her entrance.


	3. SOUND of Shattered Confidence

Hrm, it sure is hard to keep yourself occupied during Spring Break. Oh well, it just means more stories for fanfic lovers.

Yay, I finally got two reviews! It doesn't seem like anyone's too concerned about who or when Atobe's mysterious lover girl is or when she actually meets him. But this is a five-shot fic, so you'll know by the end of the fifth chapter, that's for sure. :D

Also, I noticed how much the kidnapping part of last chapter was like Hana Yori Dango. I didn't mean to! I just typed it up, and I didn't realize the similarity until I reread it myself. *whacks head with a dictionary*

Disclaimer: I own Prince of Tennis when the mute man tells the deaf man that the blind man saw the legless man walking on water. Like Jesus. So it'll never ever happen. Ever.

* * *

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Surely, this was a dream and nothing more, right? Then _why_ was this figure in front of him? Dreams were supposed to be of what one desired, what they wished from the deepest recesses of their heart, correct? Then this must not be a dream, but rather a nightmare! But Atobe felt... _delighted_. He tried to picture clearly the face of the girl in his dreamare, whispering in his ear ever so sweetly. What, exactly, she was saying wasn't clear. As her face blurred away, Atobe woke with a start, jolting upright in a nervous sweat.

The voice that had been murmuring lovingly into his ear belonged to—you guessed it—Matsumoto Gin.

* * *

Needless to say, Atobe arrived at school that day in dampened spirits. Well, it was no wonder—how would one feel if the blind boy they got beaten up by the day previous appeared to be your lover's voice in your dream?_ Especially _if you were a male as well? Wait a second—

_Lover in a dream?_ Where had that preposterous idea come from? Atobe concluded that it must have been the shock impact of being beaten up and hearing about a deranged fangirl at the same time. Yes, that must be it.

Atobe entered a deserted club room, where the belongings of the Hyoutei Regulars were present, but the Regulars themselves where nowhere to be seen. Scouting the room quickly for any notes, Atobe found a small yellow sticky note on his locker door.

_We're hanging out at the music room with Gin. Don't say we ditched practice without a reason._

_~Oshitari Y._

Dammit. That boy disrupted practice again! Atobe dropped his stuff onto the nearest bench and tried to forget about his weird dreamare as he made his way to the predestined location.

* * *

Upon approaching the music room, the sound of a solemn strings melody drifted through the corridor. There was no doubt about it; the instrument was a violin, singing the notes of Pachelbel's Canon in D. That song also happened to be the first one Oshitari was learning when he entered Hyoutei as a seventh grader, and there was no doubt that Oshitari was currently playing the violin. Atobe paused outside the door, choosing to lean against the door and listen a while before disturbing the peace. The song grew gradually louder, and for some reason, it had more... _presence_ to it. Whatever that meant. There were more important things than frivolous nostalgia, like confronting that boy. As Atobe prepared to interrupt the music, he was suddenly aware of the fact that the violin wasn't playing alone.

It hadn't been for a while, too.

Was the piano the source of the song's presence? What triggered foolish nostalgia in Atobe's mind? Possibly. But the question remained: who could play the piano in such a way that maybe even Seigaku's stone-faced Tezuka Kunimitsu would let his guard down to listen? Again, Atobe remembered the reason for his being there in the first place, and his brain pieced together a likely outcome. _Perhaps the pianist that struck a chord in Atobe's heartstrings was Matsumoto Gin._

Outwardly, Atobe scoffed, but his insides were scared stiff that this would be the truth. After his peculiar dreamare, he wasn't so sure he had the prowess to face Gin.

Oh, crap.

What was he saying? A mental slap helped his mind to focus its thoughts on configuring his feelings. Had he just denied himself of his prowess? Had he just called _that boy_ by his first name? Had he just admitted that he was scared? This could not be happening! Atobe Keigo was slipping! There was no way this could be occuring! There was no basis for which he should consider he _liked_ Gi—_that boy. _Fish crackers, he was slipping like the grip on a racket when under the influence of Ibu Shinji's Spot! He took a deep breath and tried to put himself together.

_Ore-sama is straight—there is no reason to consider having a crush on that boy. Ore-sama is awestriking—there is no reason to never have prowess. Ore-sama is sure of the facts—there is no reason to have any doubts._

Atobe walked into the music room with as much confidence as Rikkai Dai's Marui Bunta had a love for sweets. He glanced around the room unnoticed, as the room's attention was focused on the two musicians. Kabaji stood near the entrance of the music room, much like a guard dog. Next to Kabaji, to the left of the piano, stood Shishido and Choutaro, the former listening intently with crossed arms as the latter closed his eyes and let the song sink in. Jirou had fallen asleep on the grand piano's right side, leaning into the soundboard. Taki—what was he doing there? He was no longer a Regular—sat on the right side of the piano bench, careful not to get in the pianist's way, staring at the floor in some kind of trance. Next to Jirou was Oshitari, concentrating entirely on the fingering of the notes and the stroke length of the bow. Mukahi hovered near his Doubles partner with his hands on his hips, nodding in approval to the beat of the song, though it was kind of difficult to headbang to the classics. Hiyoshi was off to the far right, hands in his pockets as he absent-mindedly studied his shoelaces. Someone was obviously missing. Oh, how could he forget? That boy was the main reason he was here anyway. Another scan of the room showed no sign of a ponytailed-blonde. Instead, Atobe studied the pianist, a tiny form hunched over the keys as emotion poured from fingertips into the song itself, shoulder length hair swaying softly with the pianist. Shoulder length hair that Atobe could've sworn belonged to a girl.

Or at least belonged to someone who _looked _like a girl. Upon closer inspection, Atobe found that it really was someone who looked like a girl. Careful not to make a sound, he made his way around the piano and took a better look at the pianist. Atobe also saw that besides Taki and Hiysoshi, all the others had their eyes closed. How convenient. Inching his way toward the pianist, he was beginning to confirm his supicions that it was _that boy_. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying as much attention to his footing as he had been paying attention the the boy's peaceful-looking expression. This was a mistake on his part, because he tripped on a stack of sheet music someone had left next to the piano, and he found himself catching himself by unintentionally pounding on the bass cleff of the keys.

_...shit._

Gin's fingers hesitated as he tried to place where the distraction had come from. The Regulars looked up, somewhat annoyed that the music had stopped, but also amused that Atobe was leaning over the piano. They started snickering and Atobe knew something else was going on. He glanced up and was greeted by Gin's face, less than three centimeters from his. Shock turned him into a statue as his earlier uncertainties flooded his brain with three times the impact of Gin's punch. Gin's hands traveled guidelessly in Atobe's direction, searching for the distraction. One hand found his blazer collar, and Atobe unwillingly let the heat creep to his cheeks as both hands grasped his face. Curiously, Gin traced Atobe's features, memorizing them as best as he could. He turned back to the Regulars as he left Atobe in an incredulously flustered state. Gin heard the stifled laughter and questioned them.

"Who's the dude that attacked my piano? And why are you guys laughing?"

A stupefied Atobe grasped at the remains of his shattered confidence and answered in their place. "Ore-sama did _not_ 'attack' your piano. Ore-sama _tripped_. And this piano happens to have been Ore-sama's until it was donated."

At the recognition of Atobe's voice, Gin vaulted away from Atobe, sliding with such force across the bench that he shoved Taki onto the floor. "Nnngraah! Why didn't you guys tell me it was the Cookie King?"

More sneering brought Atobe's face color from _slightly-but-actually-very-deeply-flustered_ to _shut-the-hell-up-or-I'll-rip-your-guts-out-'cuz-it's-not-freakin'-funny._

"The Cookie King?" Shishido mocked, enjoying this to no end. As if planned, Gakuto joined in on the taunting.

"Pfft. Did something... _happen_ between you guys yesterday?"

"Yeah," chimed Oshitari. "Is there..._ anything_ we need to know about?" The Regulars began to howl louder, as if this were an inside joke that excluded Atobe.

"The hell are you guys implying?" Gin spat. He sat up on the bench, scooting over and helping Taki off the floor. Atobe didn't notice himself clenching his fists.

"Nothing important, really," Gin said nonchalantly. Atobe picked himself up and managed to straighten up before they could damage his pride any further.

Hiyoshi's eyebrow went up and a sly smirk flickered for a moment. "So you're saying that somethind _did_ happen yesterday?"

"Fish off, Hiyorin (HIYO-shi—adding 'rin' to the end of a nickname is just a way of making it cutesy... or masculinely demeaning). Oreo Boy here just kidnapped me, drugged me, and started prattling when I woke up. I got pissed, so I kicked him in the stomach and gave him an uppercut. It got him a nosebleed, and then I went home. That's all."

Choutaro looked taken aback. "How do you know how to punch with enough force to give someone a nosebleed? No offense, but you're blind, and I can't do something like that!"

Gin shrugged. "It's like I told him—" he jabbed a thumb in Atobe's general direction "—'just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm defenseless'. It so happens that I got my defenses from my parents."

"Your parents?" questioned Taki.

"Yeah, my parents. Didn't you guys know already? I'm pretty sure Chocolate Chip here would've at least glanced at that when he went snooping for my elective in my files."

"It's how Ore-sama found Oshitari, Jirou, and Hiyoshi last week," Atobe interjected before they could get any ideas.

"Anyway, I learned self-defense from my parents. They're ex-KGB Operatives. There's some pretty nasty stuff that goes on in St. Petersburg if people find out you're KGB offspring."

"_Ex-KGB_? Ore-sama was not aware of... Ore-sama must've overlooked this because of Ore-sama's anger at the moment."

"Uh-huh, and 'Ore-sama' is extremely dense for not taking a good, hard look at that file and succumbing to reality already," Gin mumbled, though it was audible to all the Regulars, and they entered another giggle fest.

Uncomfortably, Atobe shifted. "How do you mean...?"

Gin's face contorted into an expression that might possibly have been rage—again. "Don't play dumb, Atobe. You know what I'm talking about. I could feel you blushing when I felt your face. Why don't you just admit it already—you like me."

The Regulars sniggered and whooped in agreement, entertained at the obvious discomfort it caused Atobe. Gin grinned deviously at Atobe, whose face awkwardly bloomed red and pink at the bluntness of Gin's statement.

"You like me~" Gin singsonged. The girl from his dream suddenly appeared and sat in his lap, caressing his face. "C'mon, Atobe, admit that you like me~"

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was hearing.

* * *

Argh, no school and 14 hours of pure fanfics non-stop do things to an authoress' mind... I have no idea why this chapter turned out the way it did, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway...

And no, that boy is NOT the OC Atobe ends up with. She'll be important by next chapter. But whether or not Gin seriously likes Atobe or is just screwing with him to get revenge is... up to you. Take it however you want, I've got my own plans for Gin's character. Gin's parents really were KGB Agents.

Review this, if you'd please be so kind. I have to know if you think this sucks, or it's boss, or whatever. But I refuse to turn this into a BL comic—I'm too young to write shounen-ai, even if it does appeal to me sometimes... LOL, whut? *whacked by a racket*


	4. SIGHT of Trouble

Aww, I'm sad. I forgot I had a field trip to see a play over Spring Break yesterday, and I missed it. D:

Anyhow, I forgot, 'cuz I was typing this update for you readers... be grateful! I'd choose to update than go to a play about a story I'm not even psyched about. (It was the Wizard of Oz—the original one, not the awesome Wicked one.)

Blah, enough of my self-pity. Here's the story.

Disclaimer: I can't even play tennis. I'm learning how to play this summer, though. Until then, how do you expect me to have created a full-blown tennis manga...?

* * *

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was seeing.

What was this? After three days spent completely avoiding Gin—and the other Regulars, for that matter—to escape humiliation,_ this_ appeared on his doorstep? What the hell did it _mean_? A cake with various hearts and girlishly frilly decorations, as if Cupid vomited on it. Upon closer inspection, Atobe found a pale pink notecard underneath the platter on which the cake lay. Flipping it over to read what it said, he dropped the card partly from shock, but also in disgust. He withdrew indoors and locked the door with unnecessary force.

Why did this pursue to haunt him so? He could have been nicer in the past, but he did nothing whatsoever to be punished this terribly! Hell, he'd even skipped school for three days because his brain and mental stability were in turmoil! That cake—it mocked him! Laughing at his current state, unable to face his friends or that acursed boy!

That acursed boy... Had he been the one to make the cake and leave it on his doorstep? It probably wasn't impossible—the boy also knew how to beat a person he couldn't see bloody and play piano like Beethoven except for the fact that he could hear. Atobe vaguely wondered what kind of cake it was, and if it tasted any goo—

_MENTAL SLAP!_

Jeebus, even his subconcious thoughts threatened to betray him! Stiffly, he tried to force the ideas out of his mind and trudged away, exhausted for having to deal with this continuously.

_If you leave that cake out there, someone's bound to find it and start some worthless rumors._

At least, that's what his (remaining) logic told him. Atobe turned slightly, glancing at the double doors and weighing his options. If he left it out there, some crazed fangirls would find it and either revolt or start a yaoi fanbase revolving entirely around him and that boy. Then the media would get involved and spread those malicious lies even further, announcing worldwide that Atobe Keigo was a gay...

On the other hand, if he took the cake in, Gin would see that it was gone and that perhaps Atobe had accepted his fate. Then he would forever pester Atobe, regardless of what he said or if he even got rid of the cake.

Both outcomes were undesireable, but Atobe would rather sacrifice his pride for his worldly image. Sighing, he reluctantly unlocked the door and snuck the cake inside, careful not to be seen as he tiptoed to the garbage disposal in the kitchen. When the cake was no longer a hindrance, Atobe looked over the notecard before determining what to do with it. Hovering over the fireplace in the living room, he dropped the paper in, the words it contained floating away into the embers. But those words would be forever locked into his memory, no matter how useless he told himself they were.

_Go out with me._

_~Matsumoto G_.

* * *

Later that same day, Atobe came to a conclusion. He had to sort things out with that boy if he were ever to untangle the mental stress this idiocy was causing him. He scrolled through the copy of the student files he had on his laptop and searched for Gin's number. Even though this was a Sunday, a day where one was to simply relax in any way they saw fit, he had to come to terms with that boy if was to ever relax again in his lifetime.

He unwillingly dialed the boy's number; sending a text would have been in vain, since that boy couldn't read them anyway. After the dial tone rang a few times, a voice picked up on the other end of the line.

_"Matsumoto Gin here. May I please know to whom I am speaking?"_

Yeesh, such politeness. It made Atobe's stomach churn uneasily. He had, after all, called the person he'd been avoiding the most.

"Ore-sama requests to have an audience with you, peasant. Kakinozuka Park, two o'clock. It's regarding the 'gift' you left me earlier. My staff tells me it was put here this morning, since the night guard saw nothing suspicious."

_"Wait, wha—"_

Atobe hit the 'end call' button. He didn't wish to risk his confidence by talking for so long. His resolve had to remain strong.

* * *

Atobe sat on a bench near the entrance of Kakinozuka Park. Nervously, he glanced at his watch again. 1:54. He hoped that he could make it through this.

"Have you seen Atobe Keigo anywhere nearby?" Gin's voice inquired of a passerby. Resisting the urge to look over his shoulder, Atobe answered for himself.

"Ore-sama is right here."

"Well, how am I supposed to know where 'here' is, you vexatious cookie cutter? I'm freakin' blind, remember? You know what? Never mind. Just keep talking. I'll follow your voice."

"Ore-sama is approximately two meters away on a bench, to your left." Seconds later, a hand uncertainly felt for his face, tracing his features the same way they had three days ago. "What are you doing to Ore-sama's face?"

Both hands withdrew. Atobe looked up to the figure standing in front of him. He'd never noticed how tall Gin was; around 170 centimeters, almost mirroring Atobe's own height. Gin sighed.

"Yeah, no doubt that it's the Cookie King. Me? Since I'm blind, I have to try to remember how people's faces _feel_ rather than how they look. It's how I verify who I'm really talking to. It'd be weird if I started chatting to a random stranger. Which reminds me," Gin said, feeling for the bench so he could sit as well. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? You hung up before I could ask."

Atobe's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why are you polite to Ore-sama all of a sudden?"

Gin shrugged. "I suppose it's the way I try to live my life. It's a quote. 'Life is short: break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, and laugh uncontrollably.' I don't know who it's by, but it's pretty cool. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

Forgive quickly? Break the rules? Laugh uncontrollably? It seemed to be a comfortable way to live, for the most part. The other two parts, he wasn't so sure of.

"Ore-sama wished to discuss the gift you left on my doorstep."

"No kidding," Gin huffed. "You said that before you hung up. There's just one thing: I haven't given you anything but backtalk and a bloody nose since I met you. Whatever it was on your doorstep, it wasn't me."

"Really? Then why was there a note saying it was from you?"

Gin suddenly chuckled, snorting at what Atobe just said. "Dude, seriously? That should've been a dead give-away that it wasn't from me; blind kids can't write characters. We write in braille."

"What?" choked Atobe. "But the note—"

"Yes, what _did _the note say? It must be important if you called me out all the way here."

Atobe's face blanched. "What the contents of the note were do not concern you."

"Another give-away," Gin singsonged. "You told me yourself that someone signed the note as though it were from _me_. I have a right to know. Maybe I can figure out some suspects."

"...very well then. But there is a reason Ore-sama did not wish to tell you what the note said."

"Whatever. Just tell me."

"Don't say Ore-sama did not warn you. ...the note said, and Ore-sama quotes... '_go out with me.'_ Words of the note, not of Ore-sama."

Gin nodded understandingly, apparently not caring much for what the message meant. "Hmm, well, if it said that, then it has to have been someone who knows about you thinking I'm a 'frail girl'. I overheard Akuma blabbing to the other Regulars about what happened in the fencing room during lunch. He's pretty loud. Anyway, it's bound to be one of the eight Regulars."

"Make that seven," Atobe ordered. "Kabaji would do no such thing for as long as he lives."

Gin nodded. "True. He lives up to the saying, 'the gentle giant'. So that leaves Shi-chan, Ageha (Choutaro's nickname, since 'chou' means butterfly, and 'ageha' means Swallowtail), Akuma, Shitake Mushroom, Muga (MU-kahi GA-kuto), Ningyo (means mermaid, because Taki means waterfall), and Hiyorin. Ningyo's got a meeting for the Student Council's Treasury business, so he couldn't have pulled the prank."

"Ore-sama knows for a fact that Choutaro is too nice a person to prank someone so ruthlessly. He would also talk Shishido out of it, not wanting his role model to be a delinquent."

"Then that narrows it down to four people. Well, Hiyoshi asked me yesterday about when I could teach him some new manuevers, since he focuses on martial arts from here. He said he had a tournament this morning. So that gives him an alibi."

"Oshitari informed Ore-sama that he was visiting Kenya of Shitenhouji in Osaka this weekend."

"When Akuma was blabbing about the fencing incident to the others, I also overheard that he was going to go and see if he could try to get some kid named Marui to teach him some tennis techniques."

"Gakuto promised Ore-sama that he would work out at the gym today and try to rid himself of his dwindling stamina problem."

"But then that means... No one from Hyoutei is responsible. Huh."

"Then, who could've done it? Ore-sama will not—cannot—rest until—"

"Well, well, well. See which you has there," a gruff voice interrupted. Atobe glanced over at Gin and saw him flinch. Which meant Gin recognized the voice, and knew the owner of it.

"Hmph. It's 'look what we have here'. Your Japanese sucks, Volkov, just like your sparring skills."

_"Молчи женщина. У меня улучшилось после нашей последнее встречи. Я сломаю шею на этот раз."_ The speaker appeared in front of Atobe and Gin, smirking and cracking his knuckles. He sneered down at Gin, in a way that was clearly malevolent. Atobe couldn't understand what he was saying, but he knew it was Russian, and he _could_ tell from the way it was said that it didn't mean anything good.

_"Кто этот мальчик? Ваш друг? Или, возможно, он ваш человек." _The guy was now laughing in a mocking way. Gin's face flushed a bit, but his expression visibly darkened in anger.

_"Тихо. Этот человек для меня ничего. Как ты меня нашел?" _Gin retorted. Atobe made a mental note: _fencing, piano, and foreign language._

_"Во время нашего последнего боя. Я разрезал руку. Или ты не замечаешь микрочип?"_ Deep chuckles resonated from the man as Gin grimaced and gripped his arm. Atobe wished he knew what was being said.

_"Вы... являются мертвеца." _After he spat this out at the Russian man, Gin launched himself off the bench and attempted to slash the Russian with a switchblade he pulled out of his coat pocket.

The Russian was not fazed by this and sidestepped to dodge. He then pulled out a blade of his own, stabbing the weapon various times in Gin's direction. Without trouble, Gin circled around the man's back, avoiding the knife. Frustrated, the Russian reached around to grab Gin, who evaded him all the while throwing in punches and kicks. How he fought evenly without sight, Atobe did not know. He found himself too amazed to do anything but watch; it was the first time anyone else's prowess awed him. Gin seemed to suddenly remember him, because he turned to Atobe as he struggled to wrestle the man's knife out of his grasp.

"Atobe!" Gin shouted, voice highstrung and shrill from the battle. "Get out of here! I can't hold him off foreve—" His sentence was cut short as his grip on the man's arm slipped.

_"Ваши навыки ржавый. До свидания, женщина." _Smiling with bloodlust, Volkov took the opening and dug his blade into Gin's side. He slashed it forward, drawing a ragged cut below the side of Gin's ribcage. Atobe didn't know how, but he had Gin's switchblade clamped in his own fist, crouching between Gin's collapsed bleeding form and the Russian. Genuinely surprised, Volkov paused for a moment and contemplated his next moves. That moment was all Atobe needed as he drove the blade into the man's arm. Volkov yelped, then howled in pain, dropping his knife and clutching his injured arm.

Making Volkov's distraction as useful as possible, Atobe picked up Gin's nearly unconcious body and carried it in the bridal position, since a piggyback or the fireman's carry would cause the wound to rip open more. Running to gain as much distance as he could from Volkov, Atobe started the fifteen-block sprint to the hospital.

* * *

(I would have ended it there, but I feel generous. Read on.)

* * *

The doors to the Emergency Care Unit were violently shoved open, revealing a bloodstained Atobe Keigo carrying a person in even worse condition.

Minutes flew past. No one questioned the urgency of this patient, no matter who it was that brought him in. Gin's now seemingly fragile frame was laid down on a gurney being pushed frantically down to the ER. Atobe strided to keep up, wanting to know if Gin would be alright. Though his conciousness was slipping, Gin managed to squeak out a few words. His voice was hoarse and quickly fading.

"Told you... having KGB parents... gets you... in a crap-ton... of trouble..."

Atobe stood in a paralyzed state of mind as the gurney made it way inside the ER. He barely registered his own movements, but he was aware that he was trembling. Never in his life had he seen so much blood. He held out his hands and stared at them, basked in deep vermillion.

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was seeing.

* * *

Well, that's it for now. I've gotta go to sleep. But I hope you enjoyed.

I apologize for the gore, though I tried to be as inexplicit about it as I could without taking away from the story.

Will Gin make the emergency surgery? Will Atobe recover from shock and figure out how he feels about Gin? Will they learn who put that cake on the doorstep? Will the girl Atobe's supposed to end up with ever show up? Drama (and more hilarity) ensues in the final chapter of _Sensibilities._


	5. TOUCH of a Lover

OH MAH GAH... THIS IS SOOOO LATE, I'M SORRY! I had the chapter almost complete, then my computer randomly shut down the window without saving my work... I cried because I really didn't want to have to deal with it again (I'm writing without planning, remember?) then I had to go to Las Vegas for a wedding, and I had end-of-the-year exams. But here is it.

Hooray! Last chapter! Those who stuck with me, thank you so very much! Also, HUGE thank you to those who reviewed and added favorites or alerts—Without you guys, I wouldn't have known if people were even reading my story.

**Fujiko**-I can call you that right? Or would you rather I address you by your screen name? Your guess was spot-on! Haha, you're not a tensai for nothing.

**xxxihatepinkxxx**-Erm, sorry to disappoint you (?). AtobeXMaleOC... you'll understand when you read this chapter.

SO! Without further ado (Adieu? Adue?), here is the last chapter!

Also, even though Choutaro's as sweet as heck, I decided that he needed a smidge of a dark side. Like Mizuiro (from Bleach) and Joshua (from The World Ends With You, which is a video game). So if you happen to like Choutaro, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.

And, be warned, I think Atobe's finally losing it.

Disclaimer: Я не являюсь владельцем Принц тенниса.

* * *

Atobe Keigo, heir to the world's leading company Teikoku Kigyou, captain of Hyoutei Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, and top of the Third Years' class in the High School Division, couldn't believe what he was feeling.

Here, outside the ER, he felt... _anxious._ Twinges of guilt plucked at his mind, spiraling his thoughts into oblivion as he waited. Waited. Waited.

Waited for those damn doors to the operating room to swing open. Waited for that damn boy to shove him against the wall and beat him to near death for dragging him out into the open where he was attacked. Waited for the doctor to tell him that the damn boy would live to see the rest of his life. Waited to be relieved of the damned weight on his shoulders.

_What if the boy died?_

Atobe threw that thought into his mental garbage bin. Whatever would happen would happen. Whether the boy lived or not, the Russian—Vodka coughdrop or something or other—would see the rest of _his_ days in Siberia. Listlessly, Atobe slumped back in his seat and ran a hand (still covered in Gin's blood) through his hair. He needed to think. Clearly. What he needed to think about he wasn't so sure.

Right! He needed to know... who the hell put that cake on his doorstep! Pushing his mixed feelings aside, he began to ponder...

* * *

Two weeks. Two freakin' weeks. The seven Hyoutei Regulars—plus Taki—were concerned about Atobe's mentality. Living for two weeks in a hospital, waiting for a guy he wasn't particularly fond of to wake up from major surgery, meant Atobe had some issues. Issues that ran deeper than grudges. Shishido mumbled incoherently, meanwhile Oshitari and Gakuto were sniggering uncontrollably.

"Shishido, if this turns out to be what we think it is, you're going to lose. Hard," Taki warned. Jirou giddily led the group through the corridors; they were, after all, going to learn what had happened between their beloved buchou and their other favorite person in those two weeks, rather than see if both of them were just dandy.

They made a left and a right, then four more lefts, after going up the stairs and coming down again.

"Jirou," Oshitari, well... drawled. "Are you leading us to Gin's room?"

"Hah! Yes. Well, no. I've gotta pee." Shishido facepalmed. Talk about embarrassing! Eighteen years old and the guy _still_ talked like a kindergartener with a sugar rush.

"Gakuto. Jirou. Restroom. NOW," Shishido growled. He wasn't in any rush to lose. "We'll rendezvous outside Gin's room. Hopefully, you two don't get lost. It's like setting a bunch of idiots loose in a maze."

* * *

"Oi, you," prompted Atobe, poking Gin in the arm. Gin sighed, placing his bookmark into volume twenty-three of _Fullmetal Alchemist _by Arakawa Hiromu. Envy had just admitted himself (or was it herself? Envy's gender was undisclosed in the manga) responsible for Lieutenant Colonel (or was it Brigadier General now, since he was promoted in death?) Hughes' murder, and Colonel Mustang had to be talked down from revenge. So it was predictable for Gin to be annoyed with the apparently bored heir.

"What is it _now, _Keigo?" Gin had decided a week ago when he woke up that Atobe deserved _some_ respect for bringing him to the hospital. Thus, he promoted Atobe to Keigo, instead of _Cookie King _or _Oreo-boy_ and titles of the like. "This better not be another one of your ramblings on how you're going to win against me, because A: I don't know what game we're even freakin' _playing, _B: I don't know _when _we started a game, and C: I just don't care." With that, Gin reopened his book and swept his eyes across the pages.

"Oi, you."

Gin slammed his book shut in frustration. "What the hell do you want, Keigo?" Atobe smirked, knowing he now had Gin's attention.

"Do you think they're going to figure it out?" he asked, scooting his chair closer to Gin's hospital bed all the while ignoring Gin's temper.

Gin scoffed, "Of course they are, m'dear. They're not stupid. They're the nasty gits that dared me to act like that in the music room."

Grinning stupidly, Atobe answered, "Nasty? Ore-sama begs to differ. Ore-sama wouldn't have _you _if they hadn't done that." Slyly, he laced his fingers through Gin's, brushing a kiss to his left temple.

"It is nasty," Gin argued. This earned a raised eyebrow from Atobe. "Not the admitting you like me part. That part's my favorite. I meant the whole 'run-into-my-sworn-enemy-even-though-he-bluffed-about-having-a-chip-implanted-in-my-hand-and-really-just-found-me-by-pure-dumb-luck-then-tore-a-nasty-gash-in-my-side'. I could've done without that."

"Which is why Ore-sama _couldn't_ have done without that bit. Because—"

Gin pushed the first two fingers on his right hand to Atobe's lips and smiled. Atobe kissed Gin's fingers as well. "I know why, dear boyfriend of mine. I just wish they'd get here faster so you'd stop acting so giddy." Gin rested his head on Atobe's shoulder; Atobe rested his head on Gin's head. That's when the sliding door burst open and in toppled a rather flustered six of seven Hyoutei Regulars—plus Taki. Kabaji stepped over them and took a seat near the window, across from Gin's hospital bed. Choutaro leaned against the frame of the door, arms crossed as he smirked smugly at the pile of bodies.

"My wish came true!" Gin joked.

The six boys picked themselves up warily and stared incredulously at their buchou. Hiyoshi was the first to speak.

"I never thought it'd actually happen..."

"Gin-san! We heard you had surgery! Did you _die?_"

"Atobe, did you really...?" Oshitari trailed.

Gakuto choked. "Holy fish crackers, I think he _did!_"

"Told you you were going to lose, Sempai~"

"Sh-shut up, Choutaro! I can _see_ that!"

"We know Shishido lost, so who won?" Taki asked, checking a piece of paper. Atobe (excitedly...?) got up and dragged his chair behind him. At the foot of Gin's bed, he sat down and tried to look prideful. Gin went back to his manga.

"Ore-sama has no idea what you all are talking about, nor does Ore-sama care! Ore-sama has something to explain."

"Obviously," Shishido muttered, shooting Gin a confused look.

**(Enter the flashback, in which it is made clear that Gin survived surgery, Atobe recovers from shock and figures out his feelings for Gin (no, really?), it is almost revealed who put the cake on the doorstep, and the girl Atobe's supposed to end up with appears.)**

_It began immediately after Gin's major surgery. Atobe learned from the surgeon that no damage was done to Gin's internal organs. Vodka coughdrop or something or other's blade had penetrated shallowly, nothing that stitches and weeks of bedrest couldn't fix. Also, according to the doctor, Gin fell over because some other pain caused by 'several days of internal bleeding'. Whatever that meant._

_Still in deep thought about his feelings and the cake mystery, Atobe resigned himself to waiting outside Gin's hospital room until he was allowed visitors. The nurses constantly checking up on Gin felt pity for him and let him occupy the room next to Gin's. _

_Atobe loitered around the hospital, wandering its halls for vending machines from which he would purchase his next meal. He had some butlers bring him changes of clothes from his estate. The rest of his time was spent sleeping, whether it was on the hospital bed he was lent or it was on the floor outside Gin's room._

_Five days into his new routine, he was sitting outside Gin's room. The sliding door opened and a nurse jabbed the edge of her clipboard into the side of Atobe's head. Sullenly, he looked at her._

_"You're allowed to visit the patient now."_

_Without hesitation, he scrambled to his feet and entered the room. The nurse who had opened the door for him observed as another nurse fussed over Gin's bandages._

_"Come on now, don't be so stubborn! I have to change the bandages or the wound might get infected, Miss!"_

_Atobe's ears perked up. _Miss?_ Weren't nurses supposed to know their patient's gender? Curious, he peeked over to see what was going on. The nurse who'd been changing Gin's bandages turned around and saw Atobe standing there._

_"Hey!" she yelled. "No peeping! Turn around and I'll tell you when you can talk to your girlfriend."_

_Confused as he was, Atobe still turned around. Some minutes later, the nurse tapped him on the shoulder and pushed him into the seat next to Gin's bed, where Gin was hiding under the covers._

_"I'll be leaving you two alone, then. It must be frustrating to not be able to talk to her after an incident that horrible." She gave him a sympathetic smile as she closed the door._

_"Girlfriend...?"_

_"That's who they think I am," Gin's muffled voice called out. He—or she—poked his—or her—head out from under the covers. Two sharp forest green eyes looked into his own._

_"Aren't blind eyes supp—"_

_"Supposed to be cloudy or something? Yes. Those were just semi-see-through contacts. I was trying to keep myself undercover. You know, from Volkov."_

_"So you're really KGB offspring?"_

_"Yes. That part's true. The reason Volkov is after me is because my parents killed his in a mission."_

_"Then the tea—"_

_"Is also true. My father met my mother on a mission in Korea, and I go there every summer to visit my maternal grandparents. My mother joined the KGB after she met my father."_

_At this time, Gin seemed content with sitting upright. His—or her—hair fell around his—or her—shoulders, bangs brushed aside so he—or she—could see. Atobe had already decided how he felt and was determined to tell Gin._

_"You know, Ore-sama has decided that—"_

_"You hate me? Hmph. Saw it coming."_

_"—Ore-sama likes you." Gin stared at him incredulously._

_"Why would you like me?"_

_"Ore-sama decided that if you told the truth, Ore-sama would like you. Not love, just like. Ore-sama doesn't mind your existence. Which reminds me. You didn't tell the truth, so Ore-sama _doesn't_ like you and would very much appreciate if you would leave Hyoutei."_

_"I never lied about anything other than being blind."_

_"Yes you did," argued Atobe. "You claimed you were not a girl, and yet here you are still female."_

_"And that's where you're wrong, Atobe," smirked Gin. "I never said I wasn't."_

_"Ore-sama—"_

_"—was thinking too vaguely. I said I wasn't, nor did I look like, a _frail_ girl. Did you ever hear me say, '_I am not a girl'_?"_

_"...no," Atobe huffed defeatedly._

_"Then I win the argument, Atobe. And I told the truth, so you like me."_

_"...fine. Ore-sama only has three, no, four questions remaining."_

_"Shoot."_

_"Why did you dress like a boy?"_

_"After spending so much of my life covered up in layers to survive the cold ten-month Russian winters and to prevent any sleazebags from taking a look at me the two months of warm summer, I decided it would be easier for me to adapt to Japanese schools if I was more comfortable with my clothes."_

_"Why did you move to Japan?" Gin shrugged._

_"My parents said something about matchmaking with the son of a client." Atobe's fists clenched. Then they unclenched. He somewhat remembered his parents complaining about some trouble with business in Moscow. Perhaps...?_

_"Who do you think put the cake on the doorstep?"_

_"...you're not going to let that die, are you? Really, I have no idea."_

_"Last question. Do you—"_

_"I do like you. _Like_-like you. If that's what you were going to ask. If that's not what you were going to ask, then I am damn embarrassed. Uhm, I'm going to turn in, so, goodbye, thanks for playing, haveaniceday!" Gin sunk into _her_ bed and smothered _herself_ in sheets._

_That was fine with Atobe. Perfect, really. He had to call his parents for some confirmation, then he was going to retire to his room next door. He just wished Gin hadn't run away from the conversation, because Atobe only told her _part_ of the truth himself._

_His gaze wandered over to the lump under the crisp white sheets. He got up and headed to the door, and before he slid it shut, he told Gin the rest of his truth._

_"Ore-sama thinks you'll make someone a pretty girlfriend, too."_

**(Exit the flashback.)**

"...and that's what happened. Ore-sama's parents have already confirmed with us that we are engaged," Atobe finished. Without warning, he backed up with his chair and went back to bothering Gin, his _girlfriend-slash-future-wife_. The Hyoutei Regulars gathered, facing Kabaji, backs turned to Atobe and Gin.

"Sempai, do you think we should tell them about the cake?"

"No, Choutaro, _you're _telling them about the cake, since it was _your_ brilliant idea!" Shishido hissed. The two were forced to stop their whisper argument when a hand grabbed each by the scruff of their necks.

"I'm sorry, but what was that about a caaaaake?" Gin threatened, somewhat (read: INDEFINITELY FOR ETERNITY) scarring them for life with the expression on her face.

"Oh!" exclaimed Jirou, not sensing the mood. "Choutaro said that since Atobe seemed to like you, we should put a cake saying it was from you. But then the staff would see us, and we'd get busted, so we called the staff and had _them _in on the prank!"

"Is that what happened with the cake?" Atobe asked innocently. He slipped behind Gin and guided her hands down, forced them to release his imbecilic teammates, then wrapped his arms around her stomach, being mindful of her wound. "Ore-sama will have to thank you, then. Without that cake—"

"Hai, hai, anata (meaning dear, but it's usually reserved for already-married couples...), I think they already know. Please let go of me so I can threaten your _precious _teammates."

Atobe's embrace tightened in protest. "Only if you permit us alone time when you're done kicking them out," he negotiated, nuzzling his cheek against hers in a way that slightly disturbed the other boys. They'd never seen their buchou act this way with a girl. Before Gin showed up, even when they didn't know she was a girl, they'd thoroughly believed that Atobe would spend the rest of his egotistic life married to his tennis racket.

"...fine," Gin answered reluctantly, flustered that he'd ask her so casually in front of his friends. "But _only_ after." Smirking victoriously, Atobe released Gin and happily flopped down on her hospital bed and leafed through her manga. Meanwhile, it seemed that the previously normal girl-in-love had been possessed by heaven's worst demon. Her eyes glowered at them, red-violet in ominous rage, her face darkened and upturned, cracking her knuckles in a way that was inhuman.

"Now, what was that about Shishido 'losing' something? I didn't quite grasp what you meant."

"Easy," Taki countered. "They made bets. On your relationship with Atobe. Kabaji stayed out and I kept record."

Shishido looked appalled. "Taki! You've just confirmed us a free trip to hell and back!"

"I bet that you'd beat up Buchou!" Jirou offered. "Obviously, I lost." Gin veered her anger towards the other Regulars, daring them to spill or that free trip was doubled.

"Alright," Hiyoshi gave in. "My bet was that Atobe'd use you in some plot to get rid of his fangirls. Before he knew you were a girl, that is."

Gakuto chimed in with, "I put my money on him trying to get rid of _you_ somehow. Like 'death-by-fangirl' or something. I lost."

"Shishido's too stubborn to say, but he lost the hardest," Taki added. "He put his money on Atobe ignoring you and having a Gin-free rest of the year. But now the bet's between Choutaro and Oshitari."

Gin turned toward the remaining contenders and glared at them. Without looking up from the manga, Atobe advised her, "Don't pry it out of them, koibito. They're going to ruin your pride." (koibito=lover, sweetheart)

"Anyway," Oshitari continued, brushing aside Atobe's remark, "I bet that you were a girl and Atobe would fall for you." This brought Gin's feminine side around and she blushed, as any normal girl would. She backed up towards Atobe, who put the manga down and embraced her shoulders lightly as she attempted to drown out the following words by burrowing her face into his chest.

"It seems that you've tripped him up exceptionally well," the Osakan added.

"Naa, koibito," Atobe whispered, tilting Gin's chin up to face her. "Ore-sama knows you don't want to listen anymore, but you have to finish what you've begun or else you'll regret it later." Dissatisfied when she merely snuggled her face into his chest again and hugged him tighter, he lowered his lips to her ear.

"Koibito, whatever happens, Ore-sama will make them leave after. Ore-sama promises that you won't have to deal with it anymore when they're done here. Is that clear?" Gin nodded hesitantly, to which Atobe placed a gossamer kiss on her forehead. Eyes narrowed at his Fuji-level-sadistic Junior, he asked, "And what did _you_ wager?" Choutaro smirked, obviously entertained and scheming against his sempai and his sempai's girlfriend.

"Quite glad you asked, Buchou," he answered, grin laced with poison. "Like Oshitari-sempai, _I _bet that Gin is a girl and you, so to speak, would make her the Queen of Hyoutei. But that's not all, Buchou," he trailed, taking notice of Atobe's bewildered expression and Gin's cowering figure. "I also bet that you wouldn't have the guts to kiss her yet."

Shishido sputtered with laughter. "Is that right, Atobe?"

"You really _haven't_ kissed her yet?" Taki repeated, surprised.

"Wow, it's been two weeks already!" Jirou exclaimed.

"You," Oshitari pointed, "are a shameless dastard!"

"K-Keigo, can we kick them out now?" Gin whimpered as her face blossomed red.

"Gladly," he growled darkly. Brushing past Gin briskly, Atobe roughly shoved the eight boys out the door before slamming it shut and locking it from the inside.

Rubbing his head, Hiyoshi grumbled. "THAT went well. Thank you SO much, Ootori."

"We can still watch from the door's window...?" Gakuto offered. Immediately, seven of them were pushing their faces to the tiny window. Kabaji shuffled over to an empty seat. They were in time to see Atobe glance back at them with a dark glint in his eye. He took Gin's hand gently and led the confused girl to the other side of the window. From there, he took Gin's other hand and said a few words to her.

Then he pulled her forcefully towards him and pressed his mouth against hers.

"Well, sempai, it seems that I lost the bet after all."

"This is stupid. I'm going home."

"What's wrong, Hiyoshi? Can't wait to get your own girl?"

"Shut it, Taki. I want my money."

"Whoa! He had the guts to kiss her after all! Do you think they'll make out?"

"Oshitari, can you buy Shishido some dignity so _he _can get a girl and stop being such an introvert all the time?"

"Sh-shut up, Mukahi! Ikuzo, Kabaji!"

"Ussu."

The Hyoutei Regulars (eventually) made their way out of the hospital, pestering Oshitari to buy them things while they were at it.

* * *

"Thanks for kicking them out, Kei— Wha—? Where are we going?" Gin was still recovering from the mortification Atobe's teammates caused her. She saw the all-too determined glint in his eyes as he placed her in front of the window the others were squeezing their faces against. Gin realized what he was doing and froze, anxious enough even without feeling like a zoo exhibit.

"Koibito, I hope you can do this well," was the only warning Gin had before Atobe jerked her forward for an unplanned rendezvous of skin. Her breathing hitched at the sudden contact, the warmth churning in her body lurching from her stomach to her face. Eyes nervously fluttering closed, Gin's disorientation only increased when she felt Atobe pull away and mutter a soft "sorry".

-Hyoutei: Koori no Emperor-

Atobe couldn't help it; even though it'd only been two weeks, Gin had quickly reverted back to a female. She brushed her hair, washed her face, and didn't let him in the room until she was ready to face him. Worst of all, she started wearing that damned flavored lip gloss. _So_ many times he'd smelled it_, so_ many times he'd stared at the sheened substance_, so _many times he'd overcome the craving he had to corner her and suck it all off her precious, supple lips. That one peck was enough to tell him that he wasn't even really kissing Gin; he was merely putting his lips to her gloss. Sure, it tasted good, but he already knew what artificial mocha tasted like. He wanted to know what _Gin _tasted like, how soft her lips were, and how smooth they felt. He tilted his head, running his tongue over the gloss in an attempt to get it off. Feeling the substance gathering, he quickly swallowed it and—

-Hyoutei: Koori no Emperor-

—he kissed her again! After he had practically one-sidedly French Kissed her! Atobe withdrew again to readjust his head, then attached himself to her once more. Gin wasn't particularly fond of getting surprise attacked—a fact made quite clear when she encountered Volkov—but she wasn't exactly displeased with this outcome. She got an interesting idea just then. If she liked his sudden straight-forwardness, then she'd make it difficult for him to get a kick out of it by being evasive. Simple, right? All she had to do was—

-Hyoutei: Koori no Emperor-

—eluding him! His own girlfriend was eluding him! There was nothing wrong with making out with a person you would spend the rest of your life with! He just thought he'd be considerable and try to make this as enjoyable as he could, and she ignored his graciousness? By turning her head away from him? By backing up and almost breaking off from him? By _acting_ as though she didn't want to do this? Oh. Wait a minute. She was being cute, that's all. She was _intentionally_ turning away, backing up, and pretending not to like the kiss. That was it. Well, if Atobe Keigo could do anything about it, he would. And he did. Driving her back against the wall, where she couldn't really escape him, he rested a hand by her head to show his possessiveness. His other hand snaked its way to the nape of her neck, clutching the hair it found, and Atobe thrust her head up and forward. Gin's jaw dropped, unable to keep up with the subtleness, and Atobe took the opportunity to—

-Hyoutei: Koori no Emperor-

—really, seriously French Kiss her! Gin guessed he'd figured out her little game quickly and wasn't in the mood for trivial obstacles. That was fine with her; she'd wanted to do this since she'd first run into him at Hyoutei. Back then, she couldn't though, because back then she was viewed as a boy. Of course, that didn't matter at the current moment in time. Atobe had just begun to run his tongue over her lips again, occasionally poking her tongue to see if she would react. Oh. OH. So _this_ was the game he was referring to when he said he would win. That was perfectly fine. If he wanted to play rough, then she could provide him with a challenge. She pressed her petite hands to his chest, grasping his shirt, then switching their postitions so he was against the wall. Teasingly, she nibbled softly on his lower lip and slid her tongue next to his. She wobbled a little when she did, discovering that—

-Hyoutei: Koori no Emperor-

—_Goddess, she tastes so GOOD!_ was the revelation of a slightly less egotistic buchou. Feeling her getting unstablized, Atobe supported Gin by her lower back as to continue their little match. Her response was to use her hands to tousle his hair, swirling and tangling it in her slender fingers. _Oh, shit, _Atobe thought, _not the hair. _Gin's hands wandered down to his nape, her fingernails faintly tracing little circles. _My neck... I won't be able to hold back if she does anything else..._ As expected of a romance fic, Gin moaned, not even denying the fact that she found it delightful when Atobe licked the roof of her mouth. This, obviously, put Atobe's instincts in the driver's seat as his hormones skyrocketed. _It'd be shameful if one lost a battle initiated by oneself. Don't say a warning wasn't given when I am victorious, koibito..._

* * *

It had been a little over two hours since the Hyoutei Regulars had left their buchou and his new girlfriend. They were currently wandering about Shibuya, the most popular shopping ward for the younger generations. They were looking around for a gift, the perfect gift to celebrate the official start of Atobe Keigo and Matsumoto Gin's relationship. Jirou had gotten rather bored, aimlessly walking around, and Kabaji had to resort to carrying him by the collar of his shirt. Of the other six boys, five of them were still squabbling about what to buy when they noticed the quietness of Ootori Choutaro.

"Why're you so passive about getting this gift for them, Choutaro?" Shishido asked his best friend.

Mocking an American shoulder shrug, Choutaro retorted, "I dunno, sempai. Why're _you_ so _passionate_ about it?" Ignoring the blush that (dis)graced Shishido's face, he said, "It's because they've already got the perfect gift."

"How do you know that?" Gakuto inquired. Choutaro gave them an innocent smile.

"I guess I'll have to tell you everything, then.

"You see, I thought that it'd be fun to celebrate Buchou's new relationship with everyone else from the other schools, so I kinda... told them about it? Anyway, everyone was shocked to learn that Buchou found a girl and relieved that he'd finally tone down his narcissistic attitude. Yanagi-sempai and Inui-sempai weren't satisfied with just that, so they'd worked out all this freaky data about how their relationship would go. They figured out that Buchou wouldn't do anything to Gin-san unless she told him directly, and Gin-san is kind of shy when it comes to romance. So to help them get along faster, they told me I'd have to borrow some of Fuji-sempai's tactics and sardonically trick Buchou into taking the initiative and just getting what he wants already. They even told me what to bet and how to reveal what I bet to them when I told them we'd have to make bets. Since Buchou's got so much ego he could choke on it and Gin-san doesn't back out of challenges like when we dared her to act like she did in the music room, it worked perfectly. Then they told me that we should give them some space to do... whatever it is that they would do after I tricked Buchou. That's why we shouldn't buy a gift and bother them."

"...well?" Oshitari insisted. "What did those Data Bugs tell you that Atobe and Gin would end up doing?"

"We're still in high school, and they'll end up getting married anyway soon after we graduate, so they probably wouldn't do anything erotic, if that's what you were thinking, you leg-fetished creep," Taki spat at Oshitari.

"Both of you are stupid," Hiyoshi mumbled, but he waited to hear the outcome nonetheless.

Choutaro blushed, his innocence showing through the cold façade he had on. "Taki-sempai's right; they won't end up doing... _that,_ but they said that Buchou and Gin-san..." Choutaro sighed, trying to find a less embarrassing way to explain. "Do you remember what Gin-san was wearing on her face when we went to visit earlier?"

"Of course!" Jirou interjected, excited by the gossip of Atobe and Gin's relationship. "Gin-san's a girl, so it's not that odd that she was wearing lip gloss."

"Jeez, Jirou-sempai! Stop randomly jumping in like that! Anyhow..."—Choutaro drew another breath—"they predicted that whatever they did after would end in Buchou wearing smidges of Gin-san's lip gloss and Gin-san with some new bruises. On her neck." Choutaro turned away from the group with their mouths gaping and the incredulous expressions on their faces.

"Ha! So I was right!" Jirou exclaimed. "They made out after all!"

* * *

...и готово! (...and voila!) It's over a month overdue, but I hope the squishiness of the ending makes up for it. Argh, I'm good at imagining make out scenes when I'm bored and my fangirl meter is nearly depeleted, but I'm NOT good at typing them out. That part seems less romantic than it did in my head. [insert massive fangirl nosebleed from mention of make out scenes]

Anyway, I'm sad because all throughout this story, not one person guessed where I got Matsumoto Gin's name from! I even said what anime/manga it was from in the first chapter! Oh well. Hope you enjoyed this! I'm generally bad and finishing things I've started. I'm out!

~xXRandomness_PrevailsXx


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